Farmison & Co: Keeping Food Real

Diet and cardiology specialist Dr Aseem Malhotra appeared on BBC Breakfast this morning begging the public to 'dump the junk' and eat real food. Farmison & Co were delighted to see his no-nonsense approach to good food and health getting some attention.

Dr Malhotra's argument revolves around the 'myth of saturated fats.' Writing in the British Medical Journal, he explains that 'the mantra that saturated fat must be removed to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease has dominated dietary advice and guidelines for almost four decades. Yet scientific evidence shows that this advice has, paradoxically, increased our cardiovascular risks.'

Dietary fads push consumers in the direction of 'low-fat', modified food stuffs which substitute the natural elements of edibles with chemicals. But eliminating fat also eliminates taste, and these low fat products are crammed with sugar to address this. Unnaturally high sugar content results in dangerously high blood sugar and weight gain.

Societally, we rely too heavily on medication to mediate our health. Our approach can be simpler. Instead of eating mutated products and over-medicating with statins, we need to eat good cheese, use glorious butter and enjoy the odd steak night. Real food includes saturated fat, and real food is better for us. It also tastes immeasurably more delicious.